Son of
by Tjin
Summary: To save Willow, Oz and Cordellia Xander attempts to distract the Judge while they escape, Xander may well discover that he is in fact "The one who See's"
1. My Father

Xander Harris screamed.

They had almost literally run into the demonic being known as 'The Judge' on their way back from the military base. Looking at the other three people in the van, Xander had made a snap decision, ordering Oz to continue, Xander had jumped from the van to distract the Hell-Smurf from the others. A quick groin shot and a stake to the chest had done little more than draw the demons attention to him as the massive form had turned away from the van and given the Scooby his undivided attention.

That had been nearly three minutes earlier and after dancing around the beast for a time Xander had been blind-sided by Angelus and held still. The demon had obviously decided to draw out the pain as it was taking far longer to burn him to death than any of the others that had gone up against him, his screams of pain were loud enough to drown out the monster's own yells of glee.

For his part, Angelus struggled to hold the thrashing boy as the master Vampire could feel the young man's strength increase at an incredible rate. Finally losing his grip, Angelus struggled back to stand next to his first child as she held her face and screamed. For a moment Angelus wondered what to do before launching a powerful punch at Drusilla's face and running off with the unconscious vampire.

Let the two deal with it themselves, discretion was the better part of… well he was pretty sure it was the better part of something.

-Scene Break-

Behind the fleeing vampire, Xander gripped the massive demons neck and squeezed, he didn't know why he was still alive or who the strange blonde with the spear was but he refused to submit to some inhuman abomination (brought up out of the boring history books Giles enjoyed) by Angel of all people, shifting his hold slightly, Xander released his right hand enough to curl the appendage into a fist and bring it crashing up onto the side of The Judge's head, using the momentum of the impact to spin himself around, Xander found himself straddling the demonic form as he rained blows down.

The first blow seemed to do little more than shock the demon. The second stunned it and by the third the creature was actually feeling pain. By the time Xander landed the tenth blow, the demonic beast was dead, it's skull crushed by the force of the impacts and the demonic beast went limp.

After a moment's hesitation to assure himself of its death, Xander rose shakily to his feet and looked around, the blond was gone now as was Angelus and his warped creation of a childe.

Shaking himself unsteadily, Xander stumbled down the street towards Giles' house. The Judge had done something to him and he would really like to get back to his regular Xander shape, because while he was sure the bronze Hercules look was more intimidating, it would definitely raise questions at school on Monday.

-Scene Break-

Behind him Rota brought her sword down severing the demon's head from the rest of its body before shoving it into a bag and returning to her steed. She would bring the beast's head to the boy's father as a sign of his prowess.

Now if only she could get far enough away from this cursed portal to summon the Bifrost her day would be considerably better.

-Scene Break-

Xander managed to stumble/crawl his way up the stairs to Giles apartment as he cursed the very concept of multiple floor dwellings under his breath. He would much prefer a nice ground floor abode were vampires aren't welcome and it was easy to get inside when injured.

Finally making it to the door, Xander threw himself towards the door jam to support himself while he knocked only to miss the jam entirely and bulrush into the older man's house. Stumbling over the shattered remains of the door, Xander's strength finally gave out and he collapsed in the watchers living room.

-Scene Break-

"Welcome back Rota, I see you have managed to once again skirt the will of Odin and travel to the Hellmouth," Heimdall said with a smile as the smaller Asgardian arrived with her customary flourish.

Smiling at the massive gatekeeper Rota climbed down from Mirradin's back and took a knee. "Lord Heimdall, Far-seer, guardian of the Bifrost and first champion of Asgard, I bring news." The young Valkyrie announced formally before holding out the bag, "Your son Alexander has fought bravely this day, gaining a full measure of his strength and besting the Demonic spawn of Surtur in unarmed combat."

Taking the demonic head from her outstretched hand, Heimdall let his mind drift back to the time of the first breaking of the Bifrost; he had been trapped in Midgard for nearly a year's time and had taken shelter on the very doorsteps of his great enemies, hiding out on the Hellmouth to disguise his presence.

In that time Amora had come to him as he slumbered. While she was trapped on the far side of the Bifrost, she had sent her mind down to Midgard and possessed a willing female to be consort for the evening, neither had expected for Jessica to become pregnant.

"Go to him."

Coming back to the present and turning to the owner of the voice, Heimdall finally took note of the All Father, "My lord, I have long sworn to guard the Bifrost from all, to go would risk Asgard. Should I now abandon-." his argument was cut off by the All Father before he could really get started.

"I relieve you of your post Heimdall, faithful you have been and true. In your stead I shall have Rota hold the post," Odin announced and smiled at the squawk from the young Asgard. "For even though you did not break the letter of my law, Child of Frey you have breached the spirit of it, and for that you shall stand watch upon the Bifrost until such time as Heimdall returns to us," He ordered before turning back to the guardian, "For your service, I give you the blessing of Odin, Far-traveler, to walk where you will in the lands of Midgard, Asgard and the nine-worlds." Odin announced before gripping Heimdall's shoulder "Go to your son my friend, with my blessing."

-Scene Break-

Giles walked towards his apartment despondently, Oz, Willow and Cordellia had returned in a panic from their mission to the Sunnydale Army Base, they had come across Angelus and the Judge on the way back and Xander had volunteered to distract them while the rest fled for the relative safety of the school, on arrival the entire gang had armed themselves and set out to save Xander, even though none of them had much hope of the young man having survived the confrontation.

They had been surprised to find the headless body of the Judge lying in the street but the sad truth was there was no sign of Xander. Against his better judgment they had marched to the warehouse of Spike and Drucilla with every intention of raining holy terror down upon the heads of the undead legion within, only to find it already in flames, the vampires within having fled, most likely from whatever had taken the head of the Judge.

It was with some concern that he noticed the door to his flat shattered and a rather large drunk unconscious within.


	2. Who Art

Groaning in effort, Giles rolled the drunk over to get a better idea of the man's inebriation, whether he was hurt or not. Finally getting him turned, Giles stared in shock as his mind warred with itself.

"My god, Xander," Giles whispered and stumbled back slightly as the young man groaned.

"Don't think I am, but yeah, who wansa know?" Xander opened his eyes as he forced himself to sit up before holding his head as the entire world spun in protest of his actions. "Whoa, that's no fun," He grumbled as he sat still and waited for the world to stop so he could get off.

After a moment's hesitation Xander looked back up and smiled before focusing on Giles as the older man pressed himself against the far wall. The terror on the man's face didn't register at all. "Giles, just the man I wanted to see, you gotta help me. The Judge grabbed my chest and then there was burning and screaming and then I hit him and it seemed to hurt and I think I killed an unkillable demon and you gotta help me because I look like Hercules!" Xander babbled out before taking a deep breath and holding his head as the world resumed its spinning motion. "That wasn't smart, I don't see how Willow can… WILLOW!" Xander shouted as he looked up in terror at the thought of Angelus or the Judge getting their hands on his best friend.

In a rush, Xander's eyes turned toward a section of wall and he felt an almost tugging sensation on his vision before he found himself staring at a distraught Willow as she cried into Oz's chest.

Forcing himself to his feet, Xander lurched towards the image desperately as he sought to comfort her. As he moved towards the image it faded away and he was pulled back to Giles' rather plain apartment. Looking around desperately for Willow, Xander finally noticed Giles once more. "Where is she, where did Willow go?"

Giles, for his part was desperately trying to avoid such embarrassing actions as screaming, fainting, or wetting himself. He was so far the most proud that he had managed to avoid the last one.

-Scene Break-

Heimdall shrugged off the slight feeling of disorientation that came from using the Bifrost and turned his gaze South. While many of the Aesir would shy away from the cursed portal, Heimdall knew his child had a limited time before the beasts of Surter discovered him, and that was only if Loki's minions missed him first.

Taking the reins of Gulltoppr Heimdall leapt onto the massive beast and made his way towards the Hellmouth. With any luck, Alexander would still be alive when he arrived and if not… Well the last time he had been angered by the fire demons, Heimdall had battered down their greatest wall single handedly. Not for jest was he called the Ram of Asgard.

-Scene Break-

Buffy frowned as she hung up the phone. Giles had been acting very strange when he called, speaking carefully and precisely as he requested she pick up Willow, Oz, and Cordelia and meet him at his apartment. It was almost as if he was hiding something, either that or he was being forced to make the call. The entire thing could be a trap.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Buffy made sure her weapons were secured on her before she slipped out the window and silently dropped to the ground a dozen feet below, if it was a trap she was going to explain to those responsible exactly how bad a time it was for them to pull something like this.

-Scene Break-

Richard Wilkins looked out at the town with a frown, something had happened. Something that he had not anticipated at all. The Judge was destroyed, Angelus Spike and Drusilla had fled and reports had even come in that the mad Seer had set fire to her own warehouse before dragging her two male companions into the car and fleeing madly into the night. Running right over his Deputy Mayor in the process, which was a shame really as Allen had been a helpful and able assistant. Yes, nothing like the Willard fellow that had preceded him. It had taken years to clean up the mess Willard left behind both in the political and physical senses.

Of course, rumor also whispered that Allen had been meeting with a representative of Wolfram and Hart earlier in the night so it was possible the junior politician had seen the error of his ways and simply thrown himself in front of the car to avoid his boss' wrath.

Chuckling at the irony of that thought, the Mayor turned and smiled at the small red skinned Imp standing formally on his desk, "Aah, Gregory, do you have something for me?" Wilkins asked and took the scroll the small demon handed over. "Excellent Gregory, thank you. Ohh, by the way, a new guest should be arriving soon by the name of Allen Douglas, a hit and run victim. Put him somewhere special, if you will, the blue room perhaps? I'll send his family on sometime soon, a lovely little domestic group. They should keep some of the more dedicated Daemons entertained for a while, perhaps a lottery of some sort to decide who gets… Erm, what, you might say. " Wilkins explained before shrugging and turning back to the message.

The lesser Demon bowed low before responding, "And what if Lord Surter has other plans for them?" the Demon asked before squealing in pain as Wilkins spun on him with a literally hot glare.

As he pumped hellfire through his eyes, Richard glared at the demon for a moment before blinking the power away and smiled pleasantly. "If Father has an issue with how I deal with my subordinates, he is more than welcome to come up here and speak to me about it personally," The Mayor explained with a charming smile before waving the recovering demon off and finally dedicating his full attention to the letter.

After a moment of reading, the eldest spawn of the Fire Demon Surter dropped the scroll onto his desk and slowly sat back in the plush chair. An Aesir in Sunnydale made for a very interesting situation. With the blood of an Asgardian in the ritual he could easily ascend to his true form rather than the admittedly weak body of Olvikan as a stepping stone to his final evolution. Smiling to himself, Richard Wilkins moved over to the cabinet and started to assemble what he would need. Once he was whole on Midgard he could herald the age of Ragnaroc and free his father from his eternal prison and while the prophecy declared that neither side would win, leaving the world to man and woman Richard Wilkins was already human, and he had plans of his own for the future beyond Ragnaroc.

-Scene Break-

Xander sat on the couch and stared at Giles as the older man paced back and forth, alternating between cleaning his glasses while hmming and tapping his chin while clucking. Once he had even tapped his chin with his glasses and did a clucking hum that really disturbed Xander. Not even the Judge or the Master had caused this much concern in the watcher.

"So, how long until I turn into a school girl obsessed tentacle monster?" Xander queried and finally smiled at the older man's shudder.

"Thank you ever so much for that particular image, Xander. It will take me hours to get the thought of you as a Poc'nar'ata out of my head." Giles growled.

Blinking at that particular response, Xander leaned forward in curiosity, "You mean there actually IS a school girl obsessed tentacle demon?" He shrank back slightly at the glare he received for that one. "Yeah right, another time, maybe? So, what in the heck is wrong with me and how did I see, well, what I saw?" Xander continued at Giles' urging. "I was really worried about Willow. I was scared that Angelus and the Judge had just hurt me enough to keep me down so they could kill the others, when all of a sudden there was a pulling, or tugging sensation behind my eyes and I was suddenly looking at her." Xander explained as Giles dug through a pile of books urgently.

Finally coming up with a well worn, leather bound book, Giles read through it quickly before handing it over to Xander. "While it is just an initial theory, I would consider your current state to coincide with the accepted attributes of a Demigod. Particularly of the Greek or Roman Pantheon, though at this point it might be best not to rule any of them out; the question then is how are you a demigod, why now and who is your … how shall I say it, 'Divine' parental figure."

Shrugging, Xander looked over the collection of recorded Demigods before responding, "Well if I had to guess on the parent I would say my mom was the mortal donor. Unless I was switched at birth for a godling, I doubt any celestial figure would touch Tony with anything related to pleasant feelings."

As the two bantered back and forth on the possibilities they were more than a little surprised when Buffy kicked the door in with a scream and charged into the room.

-Scene Break-

(A/N) Hands up if you Think Wilkins was/Is the best freaking Villain ever.


	3. In Asgard

"BUFFY!" At the blond slayer's look, Giles gave her a disappointed frown. "Would you like to tell the class why you felt it necessary to slay my front door?" Giles asked bitingly as the blond slayer looked between her watcher and the tall bronze hulk in the room.

"Ah… Wha… He… I… Trap?" She commented, confused as she tried to work the thoughts from the day through her tired mind.

Sighing, Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No Buffy, it was a door, not a trap," Giles explained slowly before setting his glasses back on his nose and glaring again. "What, pray tell, lead you to believe that this was a trap?"

Clearing his throat to drag the focus off the obviously embarrassed slayer, Xander explained, "Actually Giles that was most likely your fault." He shrugged at the older man's incredulous look. "With everything that happened today, you being discreet probably sent the wrong impression." Even as he defended her, Xander kept a wary eye on his slayer friend.

Blinking at the voice, Buffy took a second look at the tall male that she had first thought to be an attacker and felt her jaw drop. "X-Xander?" She asked in shock as she studied the now much larger male's face and despite the changes, she still found a scary amount of similarity to her friend.

Watching the short blonde as she stared between the two men in shock, Xander smiled as Buffy stamped her foot angrily.

"W-What… WHY DOES HE GET TALLER WHEN HE GETS A POWER?" She dropped into a chair, crossing her arms and pouting at the injustices of the universe.

Chuckling at the petulant slayer, Xander shook his head at the absolute absurdity of it all. Here he had been all set for a Buffy style smack down and Giles had just taken control of the situation and calmed everything down with a combination of commanding orders and cutting dry wit. It was something he really admired about the older man and one day hoped to pull off himself.

Stepping up, Xander pulled the short slayer into a friendly, sideways shoulder hug, "Don't worry about it Buffy, I'm sure Spike was just kidding when he called you petite." Any further comment was cut off at the enraged shriek from Buffy before she tore out of his grasp and stormed out over the downed door.

Rubbing his eyes at the two, Giles simply tossed the young man a sword and coat. "Go Xander. Keep an eye on Buffy and I will endeavor to ascertain the cause and extent of your transformation," Giles said tiredly.

When Xander didn't move, the Englishman rolled his eyes at the confused look on the much taller young man's face. "I will see what I can find out about your situation," He clarified.

As the teen exited the apartment, Giles looked at the shattered door with dismay. It would seem he would be moving again soon and most likely would not be getting his damage deposit back.

Scene break

Staring at the two demon-kin before him, Richard Wilkens sat back in his overstuffed chair and considered them for a moment.

The duo were good, certainly some of the better demonic warriors on this plane of existence anyway, yet something bothered him. The two were certainly enough to handle any newfound godling that had stumbled upon his powers and could even deal with a full blooded Asgardian, permitting the Asgard was young, stupid and had no clue about his or her pedigree. But something about the situation had him wondering if he should send more, a troll or two perhaps to support them? Certainly overkill for the young sprog, but Wilkens had not gotten to this point by making mistakes. Calling on the outerworld denizens, however, would draw attention to him long before he was ready.

Coming to a decision, the Mayor pushed the rune inscribed silver bowl across the desk. *Go find this child of Asgard!* he snarled in the two's demonic language. *Bring me his blood, his head and his heart. All the rest is yours for the taking.* He motioned the two out before calling his secretary and ordering several of his 'sanitation workers' to go and assist the two. While Trolls would definitely draw attention, half a dozen vampires should be just enough to insure victory.

Soon he would ascend to full power and pull down the Bifrost and its thrice-damned Guardian.

Scene Break

Coming to a stop in front of the colonel, the young Agent snapped a sharp salute before falling into parade rest. "Agent Ross, reporting for duty sir."

Taking the folder out of the young agent's hand, the one eyed man looked it over before turning back with only one word, "Ross?"

"No relation to the General sir," she assured him. The last year had been hard, but thanks to SHIELD she had finally been noticed and finally gotten control of her powers. In doing so, she had discovered another well-known Ross in the military circles she now ran in.

Shrugging at that, Fury turned back to the folder. He wouldn't make an issue out of it tunless or until it was needed, if Ross wanted to hide his connection to the girl it was no skin off his nose. "Very well, Agent Ross. We recently had a major spike in the EM sensors placed in L.A. You will be assisting Agent Coulson in the investigation in and around Sunnydale." The ex-super soldier cut off the young agent's attempt at a comment, "I know your history, Miss Ross. I also understand a little about Sunnydale. Trust me, you either can't do it, or won't do it. Can't do, I can work with. Won't do? Well, if you won't do it, I have some rather important penguins to monitor in the Arctic Circle."

Blinking, Marcie Ross broke her training and corrected, "Sir, penguins are from the Antarctic, not …" she trailed off at the man's glare before nodding and leaving at his dismissal with another sharp salute.

The unspoken comment was clear, fail to try and spend the rest of her days staring at the snow.

It looked like she was heading back to Sunnydale, ooh what fun.

Making sure to pick up extra ammunition, Marcie headed for the briefing room to get more information on the mission. She was an agent of SHIELD, and she would be damned if some town scared her off.


	4. Heimdall be they Name

Walking through the small town once more the Guardian of the Bifrost marveled at how little had changed since his last time here almost two decades past, ignoring any looks his Asgarian armor might attract in the night Heimdall made his way to the train Depot and moved through the well let local to the long term luggage storage, after his first near disastrous sojourn to Midgard he had stashed several key items here including but not limited to clothes, money and an identification.

While his lord's foresight was legendary he was not the only one that could prepare for the future, it took a few minutes to redress himself in the clothing he had left behind so many years ago and store his armor and weapons in a secure location, while he would never be unarmed the mortals tended to frown on his carrying of swords openly in their presence.

For a moment the golden eyed god smiled at the outrage Thor would likely have at such a situation before taking in his appearance in the mirror, Jeans, combat boots and a red flannel shirt tucked in neatly should allow the near seven foot tall god to blend in with little trouble, picking up his duffle bag the eternal guardian stepped out into the Sunnydale night.

Line Break

With a yell Xander swung his sword at the Vampire that had jumped out of the crypt and blinked as the weapon cleaved the undead in two, looking at the weapon he had in hand Xander cursed as he removed the blade from the scabbard and broken belt that had torn away from him when he grabbed for the blade.

(A/N) No Beta, Sorry

Line Break

Holding his pants up with his sword hand Xander turned to watch Buffy rip into a second Vampire with the dark rage of an angered Slayer, entranced by the sight Xander nearly missed the third vampire rushing him from behind, finally taking notice of the approaching undead Xander backhanded the demon sending it across the graveyard in a tumble before it came to rest against a gravestone with its head at an unnatural angle.

After a moments consideration Xander moved towards the down vampire and quickly divested it of its belt before stomping on the corpses head and dusting it, turning back to Buffy as he slipped the belt on Xander smiled as she finished up with her opponent and stood over the broken blood demon with a grunt of frustration she slammed her stake home and coating the ground with a fine layer of dust.

Staring at the dust for a moment Buffy grunted before crossing her arms and stomping "Dang it, I wanna be big." She grumbled before glancing at Xander with a pout before huffing and stomping back towards her patrol route once more.

Finishing up with the belt Xander jogged to catch up with her before slinging the sword over his shoulder and smiling "Well how about this Buffy, if I ever find a magic doohickey that will let you grow I promise that it is all yours." Xander said as he ambled along beside the petite slayer who sent him a withering glare at the promise.

"You are just saying that to make me feel better." She grumbled as Xanders smile grew slightly.

"Is it working?"

"No" Buffy said before slumping slightly "Yes, damn it Xander how do you do that?" she grumbled as Xander shrugged at the question.

"I don't know Buffy, I've just always been good at the emotional stuff, even Willow can't stand up to the patented Feel Good Funky Fresh Xan-Man Emotional wash wax and rinse special." Xander said and managed to pull a laugh from his friend at his antics before they continued on their way through the night.

Line Break

Walking through the nearly abandoned streets Joyce Summers cursed her luck, over the course of the evening every last possible thing that could go wrong had, from a last minute customer that spent three hours browsing only to leave without a purchase to her dry cleaning being late and making her wait an extra forty five minutes, and now she was walking through the small town at night because her tire had exploded and the repair garage refused to help out until tomorrow.

Taking a deep breath to center herself the Summers Matron let out a shriek of surprise as a pair of unnaturally strong hands pulled her into the darkness of an ally.

As she was thrown against the wall Joyce stared into the golden eyes and deformed face of a vampire, in a flash images of others with similar facial features filled her mind, Buffys study partner just after they had moved to town, the angry gang member at parent teachers night, the golden eyes that stared at her from the shadows as she drove home.

Opening her mouth to scream Joyce was silenced by the cold hand gripping her neck in a vise like grip before it jerked her up to eye level.

Any ominous threat the thing had to say was interrupted by a massive fist slamming into the side of its head, staggering it and forcing it to let her drop the dirty ground.

Looking up at her savior Joyce blinked as yet another golden eyed being had appeared, this one though seemed to glow with rage as he glared at her attacker, before taking a moment to glance her way and smile.

With that Joyce realized that everything was going to be fine, while she had felt the overwhelming strength in her attacker's hands there was something about the man's gaze that promised her that nothing would get past him.

Line Break

Reaching down Heimdall lifted the shaken woman to her feet and smiled reassuringly at her "Sorry to interrupts, but it appeared you were in need of assistance" he said pleasantly before turning his glare to the still recovering vampire, his eyes could discern the half dozen others further back in the shadows but approaching quickly.

"Sorry, my name is Henry, Henry Dale" he introduced himself while carefully walking the blonde back to the mouth of the alley.

"J-Joyce, Joyce Summers" she said in response as she followed him back to the main street.

"Joyce, a pleasure to meet you, now I need to go have a conversation with that man back there but if you will wait until I am done I'll be right back out to walk you home." He promised and smiled at her nod.

For her part Joyce could barely stand the blush that currently heated her face at the man's gentle and caring attitude for her safety, as he walked back into the alleyway Joyce smiled as Henry ripped into her attacker and his friends.

For a moment she almost felt bad for them before shrugging the thought off, it was their own fault for attacking her and for not getting the hint that they were outclassed far sooner.

As he finished up with the last of them Joyce noticed the duffle bag sitting nearby as well as the train depot tag attached to it, after a moment she wondered if it would be presumptuous to invite him in for the night, Buffy was out visiting friends and she had the whole house all to herself, the least she could do was offer him a place to sleep for the night.

No need for him to suffer in one of those horrible motels that the town offered.

Line Break

Looking through his books carefully for any indication of what might be responsible for Xander's sudden change of stature Giles pushed the Babylonian chronicles of Demigods aside before picking up on the Egyptian books, while not as well versed and far harder to remain concealed the Egyptian demigods fit both the general characteristics as well as the skin tone as well as the aspects of his sight, Osiris perhaps, or maybe even Set. He had all but given up on the European cultures and the odds of a demigod such as Xander coming from an Asian pantheon was nearly non-existent, not that he wouldn't look into them just to be sure, but he believed that he was more likely to find his answers in the middle eastern and African pantheons than any other.

Closing yet another book Giles moved on to the Turkish Jaa'dari text and began looking through possible suspects, marking out those that did not fit the needed characteristics.

So immersed in the search Giles failed to notice the Raven sitting outside his door watching him, after a moment's scrutiny the bird flew off into the night.

Line Break

(A/N) Sorry for the long delay, graduation and searching for work plus work itself has been a nightmare…

I know some people are going to be weirded out by Joyce just inviting a stranger into her house, but the texts do have that happening, Heimdall seemed to have an almost supernatural ability to get invitations like that.

I want to thank Dragonelf and all my other reviewer for keeping this story alive, without you I would not be writing.


	5. They Kingdom Come

Heimdall stood in the front room and stared out the window, the slight irritation he felt at his sight being corrupted by the infernal portal had been set aside. He still maintained enough to see where he was needed, enough so that he had managed to save the charming Joyce from the leeches that had long plagued this town.

Turning as she entered the room, Heimdall smiled before reaching out and pulling the golden haired beauty to his side to comfort her. She was just now coming to grips with the danger she had been in earlier and was currently battling the desire to collapse into an hysterical fit.

"Do others know," Joyce asked as she stood beside the much taller man and stared out into the much more dangerous night.

Nodding solemnly at the question, Heimdall thought of the many souls that Lord Odin's Valkyrie had escorted to the mead halls with the signs and marks of battle against the undead. "Yes, some I have met, many more I only hear about once they pass on." He answered truthfully as he thought back to the young and old that had not passed his way.

Looking up at him, Joyce swallowed tightly before asking the question she didn't truly want to know, "Are you… like them?" she asked as she considered the unnatural strength the monsters had shown and the way the man before her had taken them apart with ease.

Taking a moment to consider that the Guardian finally shrugged "I am… different, if that is what you are asking? But I am not an unnatural abomination like them," He explained before looking down at the woman he had saved earlier. "Do you wish me to leave?" he asked and felt her hesitate before tightening her grip on him.

"No, I'm just… Buffy, my daughter, tried to explain that she was different once a few years ago." Joyce explained before dropping her head against the larger man's side "I was such a fool, she has been spending her time in 'study groups' that take much of the night, odd injuries that show up and disappear. Damn it all, my baby is out there fighting those things!" She cursed herself before her savior hugged her again in silent comfort.

While there were many things he could say without more information on who and what this 'Buffy' was, he would not be able to offer much to the grieving mother.

Taking a deep breath, Joyce looked at her hero once more. "Can- can you make sure she gets back? I know it's a lot to ask, but… I just want her safe." Joyce begged.

Looking down at her, Heimdall froze as his sight activated. The image of a blond much like her mother walking through a graveyard next to one that could only be his son. Taking a deep breath as the image faded the Gaurdian nodded, "Very well, Joyce," he answered before stepping away from the mother and making his way out into the night.

Scene Break

"Did you HAVE to do that?" Buffy asked in disgust as she and Xander walked away from the third ambush of the night. Had she been alone they would have been a danger, with Xander, not so much.

"It was expedient" Xander defended and smiled at the glare the Slayer sent his way. He held the smile until Buffy shook her head and stomped off ahead of him,

"It was showing off! Ripping their heads off is expedient, chopping them in half with that sword is expedient, picking up a vampire and using it to bludgeon the others is NOT expedient." She argued as Xander continued to smile.

"Are you mad that I did it, or that I did it FIRST?" Xander asked and smiled as Buffy once more huffed in a pout and continued on her way through the night.

Behind them, two demon-kin stepped out of the shadows before nodding and disappearing once more. The ambushed had little chance of taking down the godling, but it worked to highlight the skills of the young Asgard. With a smile the duo moved to intercept the two hunters. While strong, the boy was lacking in the experience of battle.

He would fall.

Scene Break

Rupert Giles rubbed his eyes tiredly before returning his glasses to his face and tapping on the coffee table as he considered what he had come up with. The three options he had managed to find were first, Egyptian, a very unlikely one due to the lack of certain signs that were portents of such an occasion. Thankfully that kept some rather dire prophecies from coming into play.

The second option was the Greco-Roman pantheon. With the lack of other demi-gods he doubted this was the correct option either. That particular pantheon had a bad habit of interfereing where ever one of their descendants happened to be and the last thing the hellmouth needed was Ares and Mars sticking their noses into the situation.

Picking up the last book Giles sighed, the Norse pantheon. While one of the more generally benevolent factions around, it also seemed to attract the most dangerous opponents to where ever they tread the Earth. The last time one of their 'Artifacts' saw the light of day it was with the rise of the Red Skull and his 'Hydra' forces.

Looking up from his book, the Watcher froze as the Raven sat on his table and watched him curiously. With a croak the bird took flight and disappeared through the hole Buffy had put in his poor abused door earlier. Watching the exit, Giles dropped the book back onto the table and headed for the liquor cabinet, he would have to report this to the Council, but he wanted to get a nice head start on the headache that was coming his way.

Scene Break

The woman sat in the nondescript car as it made its way down the highway. In the last few hours Shield Agents had scrambled towards her old hometown. Double checking her equipment, Marcy Ross took a deep breath before allowing herself to focus.

Sunnydale wouldn't know what hit it.


End file.
